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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Asthmatic and pregnant - any experience?

10 replies

crazyaccountant · 27/07/2013 11:53

My OH and I are discussing when to start trying for a baby, he is very keen to start now but we are getting married in Nov so I'm slightly concerned if by some miracle I did get pregnant quickly I'd be quite a few weeks by the end of November but equally I'm quite desperate to get going as waited years for him to agree and obviously it may take a long time as I have been on the pill for nearly 15 years, however my main question is does anyone have experience of being badly asthmatic then being pregnant and what that meant for the pregnancy and what extra care you needed (if any) what medication you had to come off or could use etc and if it has an impact on the birth. I'm severely asthmatic, take medication daily and end up on steroids a few times a year as colds always end up on my chest and I'm just really quite nervous of how it might impact. I want a baby more than anything but I'm one of these people who prefers to know what may happen and be prepared so feel free to be brutally honest if anyone out there has experience they could share.

OP posts:

EeyoreIsh · 27/07/2013 11:58

I'm asthmatic but it's under control.

Have you spoken to your gp? I did, before we started ttc and it was helpful. ignoring the rubbish gp who told me to halve my dose of inhalers leaving me with months of uncontrolled asthma

I think each person reacts differently to pregnancy. my first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, but my asthma was worse. This pregnancy, my asthma has been much better, I've no idea why!

The helpful gp told me the important thing was to keep my asthma under control. But I think they're reluctant to practice steroid tablets unless really necessary during pregnancy.

laura2323 · 27/07/2013 12:26

I'm currently 26 weeks and have bead asthma. When I found out I was pregnant I had a review of my inhalers. My GP has just told me to take things easy. I find I am using my relief inhaler more but I think that is more to do with the heat than anything else. I am due for another review of my inhalers next week. X

TruJay · 27/07/2013 12:29

Hi Crazy,

Your asthma sounds very similar to mine. When researching asthma in pregnancy I've come across many pages stating that a third of women with asthma report their symptoms improve, a third stay the same and a third get worse during pregnancy.

I'm in my third pregnancy, my son is 3 and a half, my asthma got worse from about 20 weeks onwards, it seemed to be as the baby got bigger I obviously had less room in there so found it difficult to get full breaths and really fill my lungs, I had to up my medication and controlled it best I could. My second pregnancy ended at 14weeks in an MMC but I didn't notice any problems with my asthma in that pregnancy at all. And I'm now 26 weeks with my third and with this added recent heat and humidity I've had a tough couple of weeks, ended up going to hospital during the night for a couple of hours just to get it back under control.

So I'm in the third of women who's asthma gets worse in pregnancy. U will most certainly be consultant led care during your pregnancy so that u can be looked after and monitored correctly. I have also read that because a woman has asthma there is no reason to ever not get pregnant due to safety concerns which I found relieving.

As long as u keep your medication going and obviously u know when u need extra help etc u should be fine. My docs have said it is much safer to continue using inhalers regularly to control asthma than avoiding them in pregnancy as u are more likely to suffer a big attack and require even stronger drugs like the steroids which u obviously don't want during pregnancy.

Hope this helps x

juniper9 · 27/07/2013 14:16

I'm counted as high risk due to my asthma, so I can only give birth in the hospital.

They say every asthmatic reacts differently- I've actually been far better since I was pregnant. Most of my allergies have quietened d

juniper9 · 27/07/2013 14:16

... down and I've only had pr

juniper9 · 27/07/2013 14:20

Grrrr!

I've only had problems due to having lots of colds and coughs. Being pregnant lowers your immune system (so your body doesn't reject the foetus) so you're more probe to infections but if you have allergies then they can get better.

Original poster

crazyaccountant · 27/07/2013 20:03

Thanks so much for all taking the time to reply, I am due to have an appointment with my respiratory consultant next month so I will discuss with him then if the medication cocktail I'm currently on is ok while trying to conceive. I also have a severe nut allergy so live with the risk of anaphylaxis with that and suffer the typical eczema, hayfever also, I take anti-histamines all year round as I have bad post natal drip/rhinitis so again I need to check out what the situation is with these. My appt with the consultant is just when my next pack of pills is due to end so I'm quite tempted just to go for it after I've taken his advice, at least then if it takes a while for periods to return I've got the distraction of the wedding for a few months. In another way I could put off coming off the pill until after the big day but OH has so much sudden enthusiasm I don't really want to delay after I've waited so long for him to be excited at the prospect of trying for a baby plus I'm well aware it can take quite some time so would rather not delay starting that process another 3 months even if there is a chance I could be pregnant before the wedding, tell me if you think I'm mad of course! Have any of you had problems with the birth due to your asthma? Just when I am ill with it I can barely walk to the car so can't imagine having the ability to breathe well enough to give birth if my asthma was an issue?

OP posts:

TruJay · 27/07/2013 22:32

I have the lovely rhinitis, hayfever and allergy combo too! Rubbish doesn't even cover it! I have been told to avoid anti-histamines during pregnancy and have done, even though u do pay for it esp carrying through summer! Wasn't much of an issue with my son as he was a winter pregnancy but current bump has been hard with hayfever.

I had bad labour complications but nothing at all to do with asthma, I did think I would struggle giving birth with keeping breathing stable but it wasn't even an issue, I just made sure I had my medication on me as I always do but I was fine in regards to the asthma.

We too began trying before our wedding and caught on the first month! Much to both our astonishment but still had a fab wedding day, was special having our little one there with us in my belly on the day.

All the best x

Christelle2207 · 28/07/2013 07:11

no real advice but just to say im 39 weeks with my first and throughout this pg have had no issues with my asthma or other allergies. quite remarkable. docs should take you seriously but you could be lucky....

juniper9 · 28/07/2013 10:34

I have reoccurring sinusitus which I had surgery on last year, so nasal drip etc is also a fun part of my life. Unfortunately, pregnancy is not your friend when it comes to this. I've had a lot of sinus pain, nose bleeds and infections so far in my pregnancy (I'm 31 weeks) and there is very little I can take. Clarityn takes the edge off hayfever but I can't take any of my usual concoction.

The thing with getting pregnant now is that you might feel really rubbish on your wedding day. My sinus pain/ passing clots from my nose (lovely!) etc started when I was about 14 weeks.

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